Beef Quality Assurance
Mississippi Beef Quality Assurance Program (MS-BQA)
Beef Quality Assurance is a national program that provides guidelines for beef cattle production. The program raises consumer confidence through offering proper management techniques and a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry.
Producers have embraced BQA because it is the right thing to do; but they have also gained through increased profitability. As an educating program, BQA helps producers identify management processes that can be improved.
The Mississippi Beef Quality Assurance (MS-BQA) Program identifies areas in beef production where defects in quality occur. The MS-BQA Program is a cooperative effort between beef producers, veterinarians, nutritionists, and professionals from the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, MSU Extension Service, and MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, who believe that cattle managed under BQA guidelines will be less likely to contain a violative residue, injection-site tissue damage, or foreign metal such as a broken needle. The program asks everyone involved with beef production to follow the FDA/USDA/EPA guidelines for product use and to use common sense, reasonable management skills, and accepted scientific knowledge to avoid product defects at the consumer level. After all, consumers purchase what they trust, and their confidence is the basis of our industry’s and our children’s future.
For more information on the National BQA Program
Beef Quality Assurance Trainings Scheduled
Face to face BQA trainings are being schduled scheduled for this fall throughout the state.
A certification fee of $15 is required and includes manual, vaccine cooler, and bumper sticker.Certifications begin at 6:30 p.m.
To schedule your meeting contact Dr. Carla Huston or Dr. Brandi Karisch.
National Beef Quality Assurance Guide for Cattle Transporters
Online training video and a downloadable guide are available for the Master Cattle Transporter Program.
Master Cattle Transporter Training
Mississippi Livestock Quality Assurance Program for Youth Producers
The purpose of the Mississippi Livestock Quality Assurance Program for Youth Producers is to increase food safety awareness by educating youth producers of their role in this process and the importance of raising their livestock in an appropriate manner. By following a quality assurance program, youth can improve their animal care and management practices in order for their animal to achieve its highest level of performance while providing a safe, wholesome product for consumers.
Mississippi Livestock Quality Assurance Program for Youth Producers Publication
MS-BQA Coordinators
For more information about the MS-BQA program, contact:
Carla Huston, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Mailstop 9825
R1128B Wise Center
Mississippi State, MS 39762
662-325-1183 (office)
662-325-4548 (fax)
huston@cvm.msstate.edu
Brandi Karisch, Ph.D.
Box 9815, Room 4010 Wise Center
Mississippi State, MS 39762
662-325-7465 (office)
662-325-8873 (fax)
brandi.karisch@msstate.edu
Publications
News
Beef is an excellent choice to include in a balanced diet. About half of the recommended daily value of protein is in a 3-ounce serving of beef!
If you’re like me, you probably don’t know the characteristics of each cut of beef. When you’re at the grocery store, you just make the best guess you can and move on with your food shopping.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel in the coastal region to discuss research and education priorities at the 2022 Producer Advisory Council meeting. The annual event aims to help clients improve their productivity. Attendees gathered in small commodity groups at each event to share their ideas with agents, researchers and specialists with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Two years have passed since the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the U.S., but problems the virus caused in the country’s grocery supply chain could remain well into 2022, which will likely mean higher beef prices for consumers.
Josh Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said labor reductions caused beef shortages, which have increased the price of this commodity across the country.
RALEIGH, Miss. – Beef and poultry producers across Mississippi will have an opportunity to get up to speed on the latest issues facing their industries and see new products and equipment on April 14.
Central Mississippi agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel to discuss research and education priorities at the 2022 Producer Advisory Council meeting on Feb. 23 in Raymond. The annual event is aimed at helping clients improve their productivity. Attendees gathered in small commodity groups to share their ideas with agents, researchers and specialists with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.
Success Stories
Extension continues assisting one of Mississippi’s most successful beef producers
Beef cattle producer Jacob “Jake” Megehee identifies cattle producers’ needs and publicizes them at the highest levels. Elected officials and fellow cattlemen all over the country respect his personal success raising and selling beef cattle through Megehee Cattle Company.
Brahman cattle at South Farm, formally known as H.H. Leveck Animal Research Center at Mississippi State University, enjoyed a snowy morning when most of Mississippi saw snowflakes on January 11, 2021.
Vardaman producer named Farmer of the Year
When Joe Edmondson surveys his farming operation at Topashaw Farms, he thinks about his more than 40 full-time employees and the hundreds of seasonal workers who work the acres.
See what is new in Extension... Extension partners to promote beef quality assurance program, Extension recognized in Gulf Guardian Award Project, First Ag leadership class graduates, and Extension supports residents participating in U.S. Census 2020.
For the first 15 years of their marriage, Ted and Janet Parker lived off of one income. She made the living, and nearly every penny he made as a beef cattle farmer went right back into growing their farm.
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